Filling in the gaps
by Tinna Karen
Summary: Otalia one-shot - Olivia moves back in to the Farmhouse, without telling Natalia.
1. Filling in the gaps

_Author's note: This story is dedicated to rocketchick. I don't know you from Adam, but I adore your Random Acts of Domestic Hotness series, and I got the idea for this story while re-reading The New Normal._

_Rated: PG_

_Disclaimer: Guiding Light and its characters are owned by Proctor and Gamble. No copyright infringement intended._

* * *

**Filling in the gaps**

by Tinna Karen

"Mmm, this is so good." Olivia moaned, thoroughly enjoying the coffee Natalia had just made her. She spun around from the counter and sat down at the kitchen table. "This is what I miss most about not living here anymore. I keep asking the kitchen to add cinnamon in my coffee, but they never do it right. This, on the other hand..." she took another sip, "heaven."

"**This** is what you miss most?" Natalia asked, and sat down in front of Olivia with her own cup. "My coffee?" She took her own sip, "sure, it's good but really?"

Olivia grinned around her cup, "well, this and ... " she looked over at Natalia, "other stuff" she finished with a quirk of her eyebrow. She got up from her chair and nodded towards the living room. "Come on, let's watch a movie. I promised Emma I'd stick to the routine even if she bailed out on us to have a sleepover with Jodie."

Natalia let out a half-chuckle and followed the other woman into the living room.

***

"God, this movie is annoying." Olivia announced, about 30 minutes into the movie. She laid her head on Natalia's shoulders and sighed dramatically. "Why are we watching this?"

Natalia smirked and looked down at the woman next to her, shrugging her shoulder. "You picked it, you tell me."

Olivia looked up at her. "Cheeky." She gave Natalia a quick kiss on the cheek and then leaned forward to grab the remote from the coffee table, "OK, no more Rachel Getting Married. This thing won awards? I don't get it." She pressed stop on the remote and looked back at Natalia. "Do you have anything else?"

Natalia shook her head, "nothing we haven't watched."

"Hmm," Olivia pressed the power button on the remote to turn off the TV, then leaned back and stretched her arms on the back of the couch. "So what do you wanna do instead?" She ran her fingers lightly through Natalia's hair and slowly let her arm drop down on the other woman's shoulder, sliding at the same time closer so their bodies were touching. "Any ideas?"

Natalia chuckled, "you are so smooth."

Olivia smiled innocently. "What?"

Natalia half-turned towards Olivia and pulled her closer, "come here." Olivia sighed happily as their lips touched and eagerly followed Natalia as the younger woman pulled their bodies down into the soft cushions.

***

It was a little after sunrise when Olivia tip-toed quietly down the steps of the farmhouse, trying not to wake the recently-moved-back-home Rafe. While he had _accepted_ her and Natalia's relationship, it was clear he wasn't very comfortable with it yet, so they tried not to show too much PDA when he was around to help him adjust. It wasn't that his mom was dating another woman that freaked him out the most, he had admitted when he moved back in. It was the fact that she was dating at all! If anyone of the inhabitants of the farmhouse should be dating, it was him. 19 and recently out of jail! _"Hello!"_ Not his 36 year old mom. _"That shit just ain't fair." _Natalia had laughed and cried and welcomed her son back home with open arms and promised him that she would try to spare him from witnessing any make-out sessions between her and Olivia. _"Ma!"_ he had complained, _"not helping!"_ and trudged up to this room with his luggage.

When Olivia had reached the ground floor without any incidents involving creaking steps, she sighed with relief and sat down on the couch to pull on her sneakers. As she did so, she looked around the room and noticed the still-remaining gaps on the walls and shelves where her stuff used to be when she still lived here. _And that stuff is now in boxes at the Beacon. Shame._ She sighed wistfully, and closed her eyes, reliving some of those happy memories. Then she glanced up at the ceiling and remembering the even happier memory she had just created, smiled widely and jumped up from her seat, bouncing slightly on her feet. As she left the farmhouse she glanced quickly at the empty spot where her 'ridiculous modern art' used to hang (after Natalia allowed her to bring it down from her room) and made a decision.

***

The only good thing about Natalia getting a new job - besides the official reason - was that Olivia could leave her own job whenever she wanted, without Natalia wondering where she was going. _It's tough being sneaky if she knows about it._ And since Natalia's job was a 9 to 5 kinda thing, Olivia also knew with a 98% accuracy whenever Natalia wasn't home. Olivia looked down at the clock on her laptop. _4:07 pm, now is definitely one of those times._ She got up from her desk-chair and quickly made her way out of the office, locking it behind her. She used the elevator to go up to her suite and then stood in front of a couple of cardboard boxes full of her life at the farmhouse and tried to choose which item to take first. _It has to be something that's impersonal enough so that Rafe doesn't notice, and common enough so that it'll blend in without Natalia seeing it right away. Ah!_ She picked up an unlit earth-toned scented candle that she had been carrying around with her ever since she left San Cristobel. "Should I take more?" She wondered aloud but shook her head. "Naa, one at a time."_Slow and steady wins the race and all that._

Olivia drove quickly to the farmhouse and let herself in with the keys she still had because Natalia refused to take them back. _"Keep it for an emergency."_ she had said and Olivia relented easily. She walked quietly into the living room, not really knowing why she was sneaking around like an idiot when she knew there was no one home anyway, and put the candle back in its old place on the side table next to the couch. "There ya go" she whispered, and patted the candle. "Beats the box any day, right?" She glanced to her left and saw the Virgin Mary statue staring straight at her. "So whaddya think? Feels more like home already, doesn't it? One down, only a few dozen to go." She heard a car pull up outside and looked down at her watch. "5:34. Shit!" She could almost hear the disappointed sigh from the statue. "Oops, sorry. I gotta go. Don't tell Natalia about the candle and I'll put extra in the swear jar, deal? Great!" She ran to the front door and let herself out right as Natalia opened the back door.

"Olivia?" Natalia called out when she entered the kitchen and glanced into the living room. "Anyone here?" _Strange_. A knock behind her and a "hey you" made her grin and look around. "Olivia! I saw your car outside but when I got in you weren't here and I was like 'where is she' ... and there you are."

_Note to self, park the car in a less obvious place the next time. _"Yeah. I took a small walk _(around your house)_ while I waited for you to get home."

Natalia walked over to Olivia and wrapped her arms around her. "I missed you."

Olivia returned the hug and took a deep breath, filling herself with her favorite aroma. _Natalia_. "You saw me less than 10 hours ago," she joked and turned her head to kiss her way from Natalia's neck towards her lips.

"Mmm, 10 hours is way too long."

"I agree," Olivia said and sealed it with a kiss.

***

The next day Olivia dropped off a small picture frame of Emma feeding the ducks. There were still pictures of Emma around the farmhouse, so she figured she could more easily place those back without anyone noticing. Before she left, she took 10 bucks from her pocket and waved it in front of the Virgin Mary statue, "see, I didn't forget" she said proudly and walked through the kitchen and placed it in the swear jar before taking a seat on the bench outside to wait for Natalia.

***

And so it went, day after day Olivia would slowly fill in the gaps of the farmhouse, making it feel more and more like the home she remembered. She convinced herself she was being devilishly sneaky and sometimes caught herself grinning ridiculously wide whenever Natalia would walk past one of her returned items without commenting. Natalia only wondered about the grins Olivia was sporting, "What are you smiling at?" Olivia would only shrug, "nothing, I'm just happy" and Natalia would indulge her, but of course she knew. She noticed it the first day when she pulled Olivia towards the couch to have her way with her before Rafe got home, and saw the candle sitting next to the Virgin Mary statue on the side table. She had planned on asking Olivia about it, but lost herself in lips and fingers, and forgot all about it. And then when a new item appeared the next day and the day after that, Natalia decided to allow Olivia to do whatever it is she was doing._ She'll tell me when she's ready._

***

A few weeks later Olivia thought she had been caught. She had brought back a lamp for Natalia's bedroom and Rafe caught her as she lay on the bed idly flicking the lamp on and off, to make sure it was working she told herself. Not because she **loved** being in Natalia's bed.

"What are you doing?" Olivia looked up and saw Rafe standing in the doorway. It was the first time in weeks where Olivia was actually thrilled instead of frustrated to hear Rafe's voice. _Hey! He keeps interrupting happy time. _As long as Natalia didn't catch her, she could still finish. She turned the light on and off once more before slowly getting off the bed.

"I, uh, borrowed this lamp from your mom a few months ago and I was just returning it."

"Okie, and the reason why you were lying in her bed, turning the lamp on and off again and again is?"

"Uhm, testing it." Olivia nodded. "To make sure it was all plugged in right and stuff."

"Right. And practically inhaling my mom's night shirt at the same time was what? Another test?" Rafe tilted his head a bit and there was a hint of teasing in his voice, and it reminded Olivia of Natalia. _She does that too, every time she figures me out and calls me on it._ She felt a Natalia-by-product type of an affection for Rafe at that moment and decided to come clean.

"Okay, so here's the thing. Have you noticed any other new stuff at the house, like this lamp, just showing up?"

Rafe laughed, "yes, it's hard to miss."

Olivia panicked, "do you think your mom has?"

_Yes! We defo' talk about it enough,_ Rafe answered in his head, but, after seeing Olivia's panicked expression, out loud he said, "uhm, no? No, I don't think she has, she's been distracted by other things lately..."

Olivia breathed a sigh of relief, "oh good."

"...mainly you." Rafe finished quietly.

"Say what?"

"Nothing... so what about this stuff?"

"Right, well, you know I used to live here and my stuff was all mixed with your mom's stuff, and then the whole wedding thing happened and I moved out really fast, so I sort of just grabbed what I could and left all these gaps around; on the walls where my pictures used to be, and on the shelves and mantle and your mom never filled any of it up, you know? Well, I thought maybe it would be nice if I brought some of the stuff I took and put it back, one by one."

"Why?" Rafe asked, straight-out.

"Because there are like **gaps**, and holes, in the house."

"And you wanna fill those **gaps**?"

Olivia nodded. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Because..." _I love her_.

"Because?" He prodded.

"Because she deserves it, all right? She deserves a gap-free life!" Olivia was getting annoyed. _Why do I have to explain my self? "Because he's Natalia's son"_, a voice in her head answered.

"And...?" Rafe urged, wanting more from Olivia.

"And?" Olivia frowned, "and what?"

"And because you love her, right?"

Olivia had never actually told Rafe that she loved his mom. _Has he been waiting to hear that?_ She nodded. "Yes, I love her." She took a deep breath. "In fact, I love Natalia with my whole heart, with everything that I am," she confessed sincerely.

Rafe smiled, and admitted softly: "Yeah, I know."

"You do?"

"Of course I do, it comes off you in waves. You might as well be wearing a neon sign or something, 'I heart Natalia'." He laughed.

Olivia gaped. _These Rivera's are hard to figure sometime. One minute they're being sincere and then wham, they're mocking me._

"Don't look so surprised! I told ya, I'm not stupid. I've done stupid things, but I'm not stupid. Sure, I was a little freaked at first, because, you know, you're 'Olivia Freakin' Spencer', but you're different now. You're better when you're with her."

"I am?" Olivia wondered aloud, and looked at Rafe. **Really** looked at him. _Is he coming around?_

"You know you are. Look, I just wanted to hear you say it. If you're gonna be with my mom..." Olivia held her breath "...you're going to have to be able to say it when I'm around, 'cause she deserves to hear it, all right? **All the time**. We clear?"

Olivia nodded. "We're clear."

"Sure?"

"Crystal."

Rafe smiled and then nodded towards his room, "Anyway, I'm on my lunch break, so..." he turned and walked towards his room.

_Who was that? _Olivia wondered. "Wait, Rafe?" She ran towards the doorway and caught him in the hallway.

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question, and you have to promise not to get mad?"

Rafe squinted, like he was trying to decide if she was setting him up for something. "Sure..." he drawled, "but just this once."

Olivia chuckled, "Deal." _How to put this without screwing this up?_ "Who was that back there? I mean, don't get me wrong, but you've never been much of a confrontational kinda guy... and, no offense to Frank, but I **know** you didn't learn it from him..." _Oh, he doesn't look pleased. Too much? What was it that Natalia said when I had to evaluate an employee? Oh, end on a happy note. Compliment him._ "So who else have you been hanging out with lately? 'Cause I gotta say, I **like** this new you."

Rafe wanted to object but he knew he couldn't. It was true, he had never really stood up for anything in his life, apart from Gus's reputation and on occasion his mom, but it was always half-assed and never worked out the way he intended. Case in point: Jail.

And if he was truly honest with himself, there were only two people he could account for this recent change, and Frank definitely wasn't one of them.

"I've been hanging out with my mom a lot lately..." he admitted with a shrug. Olivia smiled widely at the admission. "I'm glad... your mom's the best_." _She turned around to leave, but froze when she heard Rafe mumble behind her back, "...and I've also been hanging around you."

She turned slowly to face him, but he was gone into his room and the door was closed.

***

"Are you sure this is okay?" Olivia asked Natalia as they turned down the bed. She was referring to the fact that only a few minutes earlier Natalia had announced to Rafe that they were going to bed, and pulled an unsuspecting Olivia with her up the stairs.

Rafe had only chuckled and said _"good night ma'"_, and then a few seconds later, _"good night Olivia"_.

"You heard him, he said 'good night Olivia'. It's perfectly fine," Natalia said, and took the two decorative pillows off the bed and placed them by the foot of the bed.

"Yeah, I'm still not sure if he actually said it, or if I imagined it." Olivia admitted, and pulled down the covers.

"Well, then we both imagined it, either way, you're staying the night. The **whole** night."

"Yay!" Olivia said softly and laid down on **her** side of the bed. _I have my own side!_ It was still a little unbelievable to her how quickly their relationship had progressed after Natalia came back from her 'vacation'.

"Yay!" Natalia echoed, and laid down beside Olivia, curling herself around her and laying her head on Olivia's shoulder.

Olivia pulled her closer and placed a soft kiss on Natalia's forehead. "So does this mean that I don't have to set my phone alarm at an ungodly hour just so I can sneak out before Rafe wakes up?"

Natalia lifted her head and gave Olivia an incredulous look, "You set it at six in the morning, mine is set at 6:30."

Olivia gave her a quick kiss, "like I said, an **ungodly** hour."

"You're weird sometimes."

"All part of my charm, right?"

Natalia nodded, no point in lying. "Mmm, ready for bed?" She asked, as she turned off the lamp by her side of the bed.

"Sure, let me just..." Olivia said and turned to reach for the lamp on the nightstand. She froze when she saw Natalia's old lamp on her nightstand. _That's definitely not the lamp I left earlier today._ She looked over at the nightstand across the bed, and sure enough, there stood her lamp. She looked down at Natalia who was looking right back at her, a hint of a smile tugging at her mouth. "You switched them," Olivia said matter-of-factly and finally reached over to turn off the old lamp. The room was cast in darkness, but there was enough moonlight coming in through the window so they could still see each other easily. Natalia moved back to her place on Olivia's shoulder when she returned, "yeah, I like yours better," she said and hugged Olivia tighter.

_She knows right? Or maybe she thinks I just brought that one lamp?_ "I just, ah, you know, brought the lamp because my side was missing one, and I wasn't using this one at the hotel. You can have it by the way, it's all yours."

Natalia nodded and squeezed Olivia tighter, "all mine."

"Yours." _Phew, dodged that bullet._

They lay silent for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts. Then Natalia remembered the reason Olivia was here in the first place."So Emma will stay with Phillip one day a week?" Olivia had mentioned it only briefly when she arrived at the farmhouse that night, she had been so nervous about leaving her little girl with her father, and needed Natalia-induced-kisses to distract her. Which Natalia, of course, promptly delivered.

"Yup, it's like a trial period, we'll see how she likes it after a month. It's up to her, if she doesn't like it, we'll figure something else out. But, I gotta tell ya, I miss her like crazy when she's gone."

"Me too. You know, I'm really proud of you for going along with this. Emma loves her dad."

Olivia smiled and pulled Natalia almost on top of her. "What can I say, there's a slight chance that your kindness is rubbing off on me," she leaned up a little to meet Natalia in a soft kiss, "plus, there's the added bonus of getting to spend the night here with you instead of alone at the Beacon."

Natalia was secretly thrilled by that answer, but rolled her eyes anyway. She had a rep to keep. "Well, I hope the main reason you are doing this is because it'll be good for Emma to get to know her dad."

"Of course I am, I'm just saying. Seeing Phillip is good for Emma, seeing you is good for me, everyone wins. Now, less talking, more kissing please."

Natalia rolled her eyes again.

***

Three boxes and 46 items later Olivia was putting up her last and most conspicuous item. When she was done, she walked slowly around the farmhouse and admired her handiwork. Her stuff was all over the house now, even in the bathroom, in the shape of small scented soaps and tiny shampoo bottles from the hotel. She ended her tour in Natalia's bedroom and lay down in the bed, wrapping her arms around one of the pillows. It smelled like Natalia and she sighed. The farmhouse felt like home now more than ever and she felt a deep twinge of sadness when she thought about having to go back to the Beacon. _I hate leaving._ She glanced at the alarm clock by the bed and noticed the time. _She'll be home soon._ She went back to the living room and stood in the middle of the room, looking at her modern artwork hanging on the wall.

"There's no way she's not going to notice this."

"Notice what?"

"Ahh!" Olivia spun around and noticed Natalia standing in the kitchen doorway. She put her hand over her chest to steady her breathing. "Gawd, you scared me.

"What will I notice?" Natalia asked again, and smirked when Olivia's eyes widened and she bit her lip. She looked at the artwork that Olivia had just finished hanging up half an hour ago. "What did you do?"

"Uhh..." _Divert. Distract. Do something!_ Olivia strode towards Natalia and pulled her into a deep kiss. Natalia pulled away after a few seconds, "Olivia, wha- mmph". Olivia kissed her again. "Shh, just kiss me."

Natalia decided to let Olivia off the hook as she thoroughly enjoyed the feel of Olivia's tongue against her own. Olivia then moved her mouth to Natalia's neck and kissed and nibbled and sucked along her pulse point. _So good. Need more._ Natalia's head moved back to give the other woman more room to cover and that's when Olivia's artwork flashed before her eyes. _That's the last one, right? Finally! _She pulled back with great difficulty and held Olivia back with her arms. Olivia whimpered and ... _is that a pout? So cute. _"Ok, we need to talk." Natalia said and pulled Olivia towards the couch. "Sit". Olivia sat.

Natalia let her eyes wander around the living room and saw that Olivia had filled in every single gap in her house. _And my life, if I'm honest._ She sat down next to Olivia and took her hand. She smiled when Olivia immediately interlaced their fingers. _It's time._

"So," she started, and looked at Olivia, "should we make it official?" Natalia almost surprised herself. _Wow, am I always this direct? Hmm._

Olivia gave her a confused look, "what?"

Natalia smiled, "your moving in silly".

"What...uh..." Natalia swept her hand around the room, and pointed to all of Olivia's things in the process. The light went on in Olivia's head. "Oh, you noticed that?" And then she **really** lit up. "You mean?"

Natalia nodded, "I want you here, with me. Always. Not just once a week when Emma is away, or during the occasional sleepover. Always. And I want Emma here. Rafe wants Emma here. Heck, Rafe wants **you** here."

Olivia laughed, "whaaat?"

"I know! Can you believe it. He told me the other day, just came straight out and said: 'Ma, you should ask Olivia to move back in. She'll save a whole lot in gas since she'll no longer hafta drive over here 4 times a day. And with the economy as it is, we gotta save money where we can, you know?' I was like, 'uhh, okie, if that's what you want honey.'"

Olivia couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Natalia didn't mention the last bit Rafe had said that convinced her he was ready and really wanted this for her. _"And ma? I don't think you're going to hell. I'm really sorry I said that." -"You don't?" -"No, God doesn't punish us for loving someone this much."_

Natalia blinked away a few tears, "So anyway," she continued, "You wanna go pick up Emma so we can tell her together?"

"Yes!" Olivia nodded frantically. "Uh, I mean..." she scrambled to get up, almost knocking the coffee table over and ran out the door. Natalia guffawed. Five seconds later Olivia came back and almost leapt over the coffee table to give a surprised Natalia a quick kiss. "Love you! Be right back." And then she ran back out.

Natalia shook her head and smiled. _Adorkable_.

**The end**


	2. Drowning out the noise

_Rating: R_

_Disclaimer: Guiding Light and its characters are owned by Proctor and Gamble. No copyright infringement intended._

_Author's note: Takes place a few weeks after 'Filling in the gaps'._

***

**Drowning out the noise**

by Tinna Karen

Rafe opened the door to his home and stepped in, hoping to find the smell of something cooking in the kitchen. He took a quick whiff and frowned. _Nada_. The only thing he could smell was the lasting effect of an apple-cinnamon scented candle, that had been snuffed out hours ago, and a faint, slightly musky scent that hung in the air. _What is that? And why is it so hot in here?_ He decided to leave the door open to let in some fresh air while he hung up his jacket and then walked across the living room to the kitchen to look for the other occupants in the house. "Hey, ma? Olivia?"

There was no one in the kitchen, and he couldn't hear any noise coming from upstairs. _Huh_. He had come home a little early from work because the store was closed today for inventory count, and it hadn't taken as long as he expected, but still, it was 3 PM on a Sunday, usually somebody was home. Plus, Olivia's car was parked outside. _Maybe they took a walk or something._

He opened the fridge to look for some snacks. Five minutes later he walked back into the living room with a homemade sandwich and a glass of milk and sat in front of the TV. He channel surfed for a bit before deciding on a _Top Gear_ re-run.

About 10 minutes into the show he heard a faint thud coming from upstairs, and his eyes moved to the ceiling. He lowered the volume on the TV to hear better. He waited for full five seconds but couldn't hear anything more, so he turned the volume back up and continued watching. Five minutes passed before he heard another thud, and what sounded like an 'oomph'. His curiosity peaked, he walked up the stairs to go check it out. On the third step, he turned quickly back, grabbed his baseball bat from the wardrobe_ just in case_, and moved slowly back up the stairs. When he reached the landing he heard a muffled voice from his mom's bedroom and recognizing it immediately as Olivia's he sighed and lowered the baseball bat. He was about to knock on the door when he heard his mom's voice, but it sounded **a lot** different then he was used to. It was lower and ... _Is she moan..._ he couldn't finish his thought. _Fuck! _He turned quickly on his heels and practically ran down the stairs, his hands covering his ears. _No no no no no no! _

_***_

Olivia stopped what she was doing and lifted her head, "did you hear something?"

"Olivia!" Natalia complained, and lifted her hips, bumping into Olivia's nose.

"Oh, right... sorry honey," Olivia apologized and resumed her position.

***

Rafe ran quickly downstairs and towards the wardrobe. He was planning on getting the hell out of the house when Emma walked in through the open door, looking a little sullen. "Why's the door open", she said to herself as she walked in, then she saw her brother putting his jacket on, "Oh, hey Rafe, why are you home?" she said as she started up the stairs.

"I finished work early," he explained, "hey! whoa, where are you going?"

"Uh, hello, upstairs to my room," she said matter-of-factly, and continued.

"No wait!" Rafe hissed. He grabbed her around the waist and swung her around.

Emma whined, "hey, let me go!" Rafe put her down and stood between her and the stairs. "I wanna go upstairs and play on the Wii," she complained.

"What? Wouldn't you rather be outside in this weather? It's all sunny and warm, and you know, the ducks are like right there," he tried to distract her, and pointed outside, not so subtlety trying to push her towards the door.

"No, outside is stupid," she grumbled and spun away from him, heading back upstairs.

He blocked her entrance again and shook his head, "you can't go upstairs...not right now."

"Why not?"

"You just can't."

"But I want to."

"But you can't"

"Why not?"

"You just can't Emma."

"But I want to Rafe!"

"Emma..."

"Rafe..."

**"Oh Olivia!"**

Rafe cringed and closed his eyes.

"What was that?" Emma asked, and looked upstairs. "Is ma home?"

Rafe's eyes were still closed as he nodded. "I wanna see her, I need to tell her what Jodie did."

"Oh, now is not a good time for that Em. Please, let's just go outside. We can get ice cream. I know how much you like ice cream. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"I hate ice cream. And I hate Jodie and I want to talk to mommy!" Emma almost yelled.

"Aw, munchkin," Rafe said and picked up Emma, "trust me, ma and Olivia are a little busy right now, but you can always talk to me." He walked them both towards the couch and sat down, Emma sitting in his lap. "Come on, we'll watch some TV and eat some popcorn and you can tell me. If anyone was mean to you you just have to let me know and I'll protect you. I **am** your big brother, after all."

"Really?"

"Really, really."

Emma nodded and hugged Rafe. She was about to tell him what happened when they heard more noises from their mothers. "What are they doing up there?"

Rafe turned the volume on the TV a little higher. "Trust me Em, you don't wanna know."

***

"That was freakin' **amazing**," Olivia said and burrowed deeper into Natalia. "I love it when no one is home. You're so ... **unreserved** ... when it's just the two of us," she quipped and was nudged in the stomach by Natalia's thigh in response.

"I don't think," Natalia took a deep breath, "you can attribute **that** with no one being home ... that was all you and your **relentless** tongue."

Olivia grinned, feeling more than a little proud. "And stop grinning," Natalia said knowingly, even though her eyes were closed and Olivia's head was actually resting on her stomach so she couldn't see her grin.

"How did you know I was grinning?"

"'Cause I know you, and I can feel it on my tummy."

"Oh really?" Olivia lifted her head, "can you feel this?"

Natalia felt a soft kiss above her belly button, "yup."

"How about this?" Another kiss above her heart.

Natalia nodded.

"And this?" Olivia blew softly over Natalia's right nipple.

"Oh yes," Natalia quickly pulled Olivia up and then spun them around, so that Olivia was lying beneath her. "I can feel you everywhere," she breathed, and kissed Olivia lightly on the mouth, "and I can **feel**," she emphasized with a touch of her hand, "that you are **so** ready for me."

***

"...and then Jodie pushed me, and I fell off the couch! Can you believe that? Just 'cause I'm better than she is in Guitar Hero!"

"What? Well that's just silly. I can't imagine anyone wanting to push you... you're so cute and cuddly," Rafe joked and tickled Emma until she was laughing and squirming so much she almost fell off the couch. Again. "Okay, I'll stop," he said and pulled her further into the couch, "we wouldn't want you to fall out off this couch too. You'd get a couch complex. You'd be afraid to sit on any couch ever again from fear of falling! They'd have to name a whole new disease because of you. It would be the 'emmacouchtigo', and then someone will write a book about it, and then a movie will be made out of the book starring Miley Cyrus and it would be called 'Why is everyone standing around?' and..." Emma stopped laughing and Rafe sighed, leaned towards the coffee table and increased the volume on the TV.

"They sure can talk a lot," Emma said quietly and reached for more popcorn.

"Yup."

***

Somewhere in her sex-fuddled brain, and in-between kisses and her wrist straining against Olivia, Natalia started hearing low voices. _What is that?_ There was also music and sound effects, like explosions, and... _Am I going insane? It's like a movie in my head._ But then Olivia moaned loudly in her ear and the noises went away. Natalia was able to focus again on Olivia who was sitting in her lap and moving against her hand, her lover's breasts bouncing in front of her eyes as Olivia leaned back on her hands, digging them into the mattress for balance, as she used her hips to ride Natalia's fingers. _Oh wow._

But then the noises came back, louder this time, more distinct, and Natalia knew. _It's the TV. Someone is downstairs_. "Oh my god."

"Oh yeah," Olivia answered and ground down harder.

"No, Olivia, wait.. there's..." Olivia pushed up and wrapped both arms around her shoulders, pulling her close and silencing her with rapid kisses, "can't wait... oh god, so close...", and all Natalia could do was continue. Olivia moaned louder and louder, the noises from the TV became louder and louder and even if Natalia knew she should be feeling embarrassed right now, the need to make Olivia come spurred her on. Her brain was busy figuring out who was downstairs, but her body and fingers and mouth moved with practiced ease and pure instinct and she couldn't stop.

It wasn't until after Olivia called out her name and started convulsing around her fingers and finally collapsing on top of her, that Natalia started wondering again. _Emma is supposed to be at Jodie's and Rafe at work... I know we locked both doors...so that means..._

"Huh," Olivia said a few minutes later. "Did we leave the TV on?"

Natalia shook her head, "nope."

"So that means..."

Natalia nodded.

"Oh."

***

About thirty minutes, two showers and a lot of silent looks later, Olivia and Natalia walked quietly down the stairs. The TV was back to normal volume strength and Rafe and Emma sat cuddled together on the couch eating ice cream and watching Spongebob.

"I thought you were at work?"

"I thought you were at Jodie's?"

Both children looked up at their respective parents, "I came home early," they answered at the same time.

"When?" Natalia asked.

Rafe shrugged, "two hours maybe."

Natalia gasped and felt her face heat up, and walked quickly to the kitchen. Olivia stood still alternating her gaze at Rafe and Emma and the kitchen before giving into her need to comfort Natalia.

She found Natalia sitting by the kitchen table with both hands covering her face and quietly mumbling to herself. Olivia pulled up a chair and sat next Natalia, and maneuvered her slowly into a hug.

"I'm so embarrassed. There is absolutely no way they didn't hear us," Natalia said quietly.

"I know."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"Eh," Olivia shrugged, causing Natalia to look into her eyes. She lifted an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

"Okay, maybe a little," Olivia admitted. "But it's not a big deal... so what? They heard a couple of muffled moans?"

"There were more than just a couple." Natalia pointed out.

"Maybe so, but if you ask me, honestly... I'd rather that my kids know that I'm madly in love with their other mother, instead of thinking that we don't love each other."

"Why would they think that?"

Olivia was quiet for a moment, "I don't know."

"Olivia...you wouldn't have said it if you didn't have some idea."

"Ok fine. I just...uh, I mean we..." Olivia sighed, "we're trying to be so careful around them, you know, they've never even seen us kiss, and maybe..."

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe, they think that we're just not the kind of couple that kiss and stuff. And some people might think that we don't love each other as much as we claim to, that our relationship is just, you know, emotional and not physical."

"What people? We're talking about Rafe and Emma here."

"People in this town talk Natalia. Rafe and Emma could accidentally be around to hear that. I don't want them or anyone else to think that I'm just, I don't know, biding my time here until someone better comes along."

"They don't think that. Nobody thinks that. You love me. It's as clear as day."

"To you maybe, but not to other people. What do they see? We hold hands, we sit close, we hug... we don't kiss."

Natalia sat back in her chair and bit her lower lip. "Is this your way of saying that you want more public displays of affection?"

"Oh yes please! I'm so ready for public displays of affection. I want to kiss you during lunch at Company and make out in the elevator at Towers and..." Olivia leaned closer so she could whisper into Natalia's ear, "I really, really want to make love to you in the gazebo at the park, at night, under the moonlight..."

Natalia drew in a sharp breath. "Oh god, Olivia, that's so..."

"What?"

Before Olivia knew what was happening Natalia had climbed into her lap and was kissing her with abandon. It was only when their combined weight made the chair fall backwards that Natalia thought that maybe this hadn't been her best idea.

***

An hour later the entire family was sitting by the kitchen table having dinner. Natalia, Olivia and Rafe were quietly eating and pointedly avoiding making eye contact with each other. Emma sat wide eyed and curious, unable to decide where to look. Her gaze shifted between the other three occupants in the room. Finally she couldn't take it anymore. Her gaze landed on Natalia. "How did the chair break?"

"Uhm," Natalia grabbed her glass of water and took a sip, a long sip, she completely finished the glass, and stood up from the table, "one second, I'm just going to..." she pointed at the glass, and walked towards the fridge to refill it.

"Mom?" Emma asked instead.

"Yes, jellybean?"

"How did it break?" Rafe looked up at Olivia with a knowing grin.

"Oh, it fell, backwards." Olivia explained, hoping that was enough. It wasn't.

"Why did it fall backwards?"

"Something to do with too much weight and gravity and physics..."

"It was physical, alright." Rafe quipped, and looked back down at his plate.

Natalia sat back down, and quickly kicked her son under the table.

"Ma!" Rafe laughed, and he kicked her back.

"Rafe! How could you? I'm your mother!" she said with grin, and kicked him back.

"Hey, you kicked me first!" he said, and retaliated by throwing a piece of broccoli at her.

Natalia gasped, "oh no you didn't!" She threw the broccoli back at him. "Here, you dropped this."

Rafe filled his spoon with massed potatoes and launched it at his mother. It landed with a splat in her face.

"Rafe!"

Olivia and Emma burst out laughing. "Oh you think this is funny?" Natalia laughed, and filled both hands with rice and launched it at the two of them.

Olivia and Emma looked at each other, both arching an eyebrow and grinning, and then threw their own rice back at Natalia. And then all hell broke loose. Broccoli, chicken, rice and mashed potato was tossed in every direction, even some spoon launched gravy was flung around and then the water fight started and before they knew it the kitchen was a gooey mess. Emma was chasing Rafe around the table, throwing chunks of massed potatoes at him and Olivia and Natalia had somehow ended on the floor after slipping on the wet surface and were wrestling and trying to stuff rice down each others shirt.

Natalia had managed to pin Olivia's arms above her head and smiled brightly down at her. "You're a mess". Pieces of rice were stuck to Olivia's face and you could see chunks of potatoes and a little gravy in her hair.

"You don't look so hot yourself." Olivia said as she wriggled and tried to get loose.

Natalia glanced up to see where Emma and Rafe were and saw them behind her, busy trying to smear brown gravy in each other faces. She looked back down at Olivia.

"Actually," she whispered, and moved closer, releasing Olivia's arms, "all your moving beneath me is making me kinda hot."

"Is that so?"

Natalia nodded, then leaned down and kissed Olivia. She kept the kiss chaste, knowing that they weren't alone, but it was still just as wonderful as their other kisses, and filled her heart with love. "I love you," she whispered when she pulled back.

Olivia nodded, and swallowed back the lump in her throat. Natalia had just unabashedly kissed her in front of their kids. Life was good. She smiled back, "I love you too, so much."

"We love you too!" Emma said giggling above them.

Olivia and Natalia both looked up, "no wait!" and their eyes went wide as a whole bucket of water was tossed over them.

"Emma!" Olivia splurted, "you are in so much trouble!"


End file.
